1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to container forming and filling devices which are capable of forming, sealing and filling flexible containers, and, more particularly, to a container forming and filling device which includes a transfer assembly for transferring multiple streams of flexible containers formed side by side to a filling device.
2. Background Art
Generally, the filling of bag in box flexible containers requires three distinct steps. First a flexible container is formed on a first piece of equipment. The formed flexible container is then generally transferred, shipped or otherwise delivered to a filler wherein the formed flexible container is introduced into a second piece of equipment and filled with a particular desired flowable material. Finally, the filled flexible container is then placed into an outer flexible container, typically, a paperboard box.
One drawback to such production is that the flexible container formation equipment is located at a first installation and the filling equipment is located at a second installation. Thus, after formation, the flexible containers must be packaged and shipped to the filling location. The handling and shipping of the formed flexible containers introduces a number of disadvantages. In addition to the inherent disadvantage relative to speed and efficiency, the handling of the bag between the first and second installation results in the compromising of a certain percentage of the flexible containers and, ultimately, to failure of these flexible containers after filling.
As such, there is an inherent advantage that is realized when flexible container formation and flexible container filling is combined into a single installation such that a particular piece of equipment begins with a plurality of rolls of film at the input side and a filled flexible container placed into an outer box at the other side. Such equipment is generally referred to as Form, Seal, Fill equipment, or FSF. More specifically, webs of film are provided to the equipment. The webs of film are formed and a flexible container cavity is made in a sealing step. Finally, the fully made flexible container is filled by a fill head.
In such an operation, the handling of the flexible containers between formation and shipment is minimized. Thus, efficiency gains are experienced. Moreover, the flexible containers encounter a minimal handling thereof. As a result, failures and compromised flexible containers are virtually eliminated.
While the advantages of form, seal and fill equipment has been noted, there has been some difficulty in realizing the full potential of such a system. One particular difficulty has resulted from inherent differences in production between forming and sealing equipment relative to the filling equipment. As the filling step can usually be processed at a quicker rate, the filling equipment must be throttled down so that the two assemblies can operate in unison.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to form multiple flexible containers in forming and sealing equipment for feeding to a single filling machine such that the speed advantages of the filling equipment can be realized and exploited.
It is another object of the invention to form multiple flexible containers simultaneously in a single forming assembly for feeding into a single filling machine such that the advantages of the filling equipment can be realized while not requiring a plurality of forming and sealing equipment.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of the specification and claims appended hereto.